For the fourth time in five days, Westmoreland County experienced a double-digit increase in the number of new coronavirus cases, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and officials say if the numbers continue to rise, the county risks additional restrictions.
“We cannot stress the importance of being safe this weekend in order to keep our numbers low and to keep our economy open,” county commissioners Gina Cerilli, Douglas Chew and Sean Kertes said in a news release Thursday. “The measures that you practice will enable the county to stay in the ‘green’ phase, protect the health of residents, continue the path toward economic recovery and prevent the governor from placing additional restrictions on Westmoreland County.”
The department on Thursday reported 36 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths in the county. This brings the county case total to 711 and death total to 38.
Ten of the new cases are from New Kensington and five are from Greensburg.
The department reported 29 new cases for the county on Wednesday; six on Tuesday, 20 on Monday and 13 on Sunday.
Of the total cases, 685 are confirmed and 26 are probable.
In Westmoreland County, more than 18,000 people have tested negative for the virus.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, there are 88,074 cases and 6,712 deaths statewide.
On June 5, Westmoreland County moved to the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan.
